Summer time in Devon is great for catching Bass, Mullet & Mackerel. My first port of call was Watermouth, a small harbour situated between Ilfracombe and Combe Martin. This beautiful harbour boasts several well equipped campsites, a couple of pubs, a castle and great fishing. If you are not staying on a campsite then you will have to pay to fish in the areas owned by them. The fee is £2.00 per rod and the money according to the new camp site owners will go to restoring the footpaths. If you park in the harbour then you will have to pay for parking, £1.50 for 2 hours, knock on the harbour masters door or look round the harbour for harbour master to pay parking fee.
There are two distinct sides to fish, inside the harbour and on the exposed side (See Map) looking out to Wales. Both sides offer excellent fishing but at the same time very different fishing conditions. The harbour is mainly sandy, so it makes fishing on the bottom (ledgering) an awful lot easier and cheaper! The exposed side is very rocky and ledgering becomes a challenge, so I often float from this side although there are some nice sandy areas that can be reached on a low tide. Map 1 shows 3 marks that I go to on a regular basis. Click on each link to move the marker on the map.
Mark 1 can only be reached on a low tide or by boat and is an excellent place to catch Sea Bass. The best time to fish this mark is on an out going tide. Wait until the tide is low enough to be able to walk past the first break water, then wade out along the rocks, if your feeling brave you can climb them. You can start fishing any where along this stretch and I have great results fishing just past the last moored boat. You will only get about 2 hours but expect a bite if not a fish every 15 minutes when using sand eel.
Mark 2 can be reached on an incoming or out
going tide provided you are wearing waist high waders or don't mind getting wet.
You need to be inline with the abandoned boat that is resting on its side.
The boat has now been replaced by a lifeboat and fish near the trees. If you are
quiet you will see a lot of large Mullet just under the surface and milling
between the boats. Use light gear as the fish are easily spooked.
Mark 3
is one of my favourite spots for fishing at Watermouth. You can get to this mark
by either walking along the right hand side of the harbour on a low tide and
then climbing the rocks until you find the ledge or taking the footpath shown on
the map (switch to satellite view and zoom into the map). The beginning of the path has
eroded now been repaired (Yeah). Walk
up this path until you come to the watch tower and then take the path to the
left of the tower. Be careful as the path is narrow and you don't want to fall
of the edge! This path will eventually come to an end. Just before the end you
will see another path on your left. Take this and be extra careful when going
down this path as it is very steep, surrounded by lots of bushes and easy to
fall or get your rods caught in the undergrowth. At the bottom of this path is
the ledge for fishing on. If this is your first visit then expect to see the
ledge about 20 feet above the waterline on a low tide. To this day, I still find
it amazing how much the tide changes in this area and on a full tide the
water will only be feet away from the top of the ledge.
Mark 4 is a great spot for Mackerel & Dog fish. If you are not staying on the campsite then it will cost you £2.00 per person to fish this spot. Head to the campsite shop then look out towards Wales and follow the path to the left that leads up the hill. When you get to the swings at the top of the hill turn right and follow the path down to the rocks. Walk out on to the rocks and go as far as you can until you come the edge on a low tide You should end up near the mouth of the cove leading to the beach. Use a ledger, half mackerel, wire trace and cast as far out as you can. Don't worry about rocks as it is a sandy bottom and you shouldn't loose to much tackle. You should catch at least one dog fish every 20 minutes so be prepared for action. Use feathers for mackerel or if you want to give them a sporting chance, float about 4 feet deep using sand eel as bait for maximum effect.
Warning : Watermouth is not for the faint hearted. Getting to the marks often requires wading in deep water or crawling over very slippy rocks, the tide rises by up to 10 meters and so land that looked secure is suddenly underwater and the tide flow can be very strong so take a few precautions before going fishing:-
1) Tell some one where you are going and when you expect to be back.
2) Make sure you know the High Tide times and heights.
3) If possible fish in pairs so that you can help each other over the rocks as the best fishing is always in the most inaccessible places!
4) take waterproofs & boots with a good grip or use waders.